Lee Mazzilli inducted in Mets Hall of Fame during pre-game ceremony

SHEEPSHEAD BAY – Brooklyn native Lee Mazzilli was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame at Citi Field, May 30.

A paid attendance of 38,552 people saw Mazzilli and former manager Bobby Valentine honored during a pre-game ceremony. Radio broadcaster for the team, Howie Rose, was the afternoon’s master of ceremonies.

“Lee Mazzilli is New York through and through,” Rose said. “A first-round draft pick out of Brooklyn’s Abraham Lincoln High School, he immediately became a fan favorite in the late 1970s. His face adorned billboards throughout the city, befitting his star status. In 1979, he became the first Met ever to homer in the All-Star Game, and later that night, drove in the game’s winning run for the National League.”

Rose added, “In 1986, having been traded several years earlier, he returned to the Mets and was a significant contributor to the Mets’ 1986 World Championship, starting key run-scoring rallies with hits in both game six and seven.”

Mazzilli’s family, friends and former teammates were in attendance as he delivered an emotional speech.

“Baseball is what we do, but it’s not who we are, and I would like to tell you who I am,” he told the crowd. “Hello. My name is Lee Mazzilli. I was born in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, to two proud, old-school Italian parents who instilled old-fashioned values — love of the family. I remember as a kid growing up, I didn’t have much. It was the five of us in a three-room apartment in Brooklyn.”

However, he explained he felt grateful, especially for his parents.

“As I got older and started to play this game of baseball, it was my dad who knew nothing about baseball. The only thing he knew was Joe DiMaggio. I’ll tell you what he did know; he knew how to support his son — be there for his son, no matter what. Good, bad, didn’t matter. He was there every day,” he said. “The reason why I’m saying that, to all you moms and dads out there, support your kids. Be there for them because you never know, one day, they might be standing behind this microphone, your son or daughter, as a Hall of Famer for the New York Mets.”

Mazzilli also highlighted his relationship with his granddaughter. “I’ve waited my whole life for you. You’ve changed my world, and I cannot think of the day that you and I walk hand in hand in that rotunda and see you and say, ‘That’s you, Grandpa.’ That’s going to be special,” he said.

During his time with the Mets, 1976 to 1981 and 1986 to 1989, Mazzilli hit .264/.357/.396. Mazzilli ranks sixth in franchise history with 152 stolen bases and is tied for fifth in team history with 38 pinch-hits.

“Looking at all these great players — Hall of Famers, friends — I know that I am not the best player in the Mets Hall of Fame, but I am the proudest,” he said.

During a press conference before the game, Mazzilli answered questions about playing during the Amazins in the ‘70s.

“In the ’70s, New York was tough. It was a bad time in New York, not just baseball,” he said, adding that the city was broke, citing strikes and blackouts. 

Mazzilli’s saving grace was playing baseball and being fortunate enough to come from Brooklyn and play for his hometown.

“I didn’t get the lean years of the ’70s. This is where I was born and raised, so to play in your backyard — it meant a lot.”

Former manager Valentine also spoke highly of Mazzilli.

“I watched Lee play, and it was special,” he said. “Everyone else was gone, and he was left behind, and he was going to be the only thing that people would come to the stadium for because, for the most part, he was the only thing that anybody should come to the stadium for. He was spectacular in his uniform.”